“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ~Albert Einstein

There is no doubt whatsoever that spending time chatting with 84-year old Norwich residents, Dottie S. Dorion, and her 89-year old husband George, will give you an entire new perspective on aging.

Over those 84 years Dottie has gained international fame and worldwide acclaim as a Humanitarian, Athlete, Educator and most lately, renowned Artist. The key element in that last statement is that Dottie is a long way from resting on her laurels. Slowing down to enjoy conventional retirement is not even an option and it never was.… Read More

Thirteen years ago we adopted a puppy. ‘Baxter’ was a hypoallergenic dog that an acquaintance, who suffered from allergies, paid one thousand dollars for at a pet store. She quickly learned that hypoallergenic was more of a word than a guarantee, so Baxter became ‘Noodle’ and, sight unseen, became ours.

Noodle was an ugly puppy. Noodle, a Schnoodle, did not have much hair rather he had patches of gray fuzz covering small portions of his pink skin. The largest amount of his hair oddly dangled from his nether region, making urination akin to dragging around a wet mop. As far as we were concerned, Noodle’s penis string was just another peculiar physical characteristic that we grew to adore about this strange looking dog.… Read More

Hartford-Norwich Holiday Basket Helpers

Making a difference in the local area is very important to me and when I was asked to help deliver Senior Fruit Baskets, I jumped at the chance to help and brought my two young children. I think my kids were 8 and 6 at the time and they still remember the faces of some of the seniors when they opened the door. I do! Pure joy and gratitude. The next year, I was asked to organize the Senior fruit baskets and the rest is history! I love helping our Seniors and organizing people who want to help our Seniors, too!… Read More

In 1824, Edwin Ferry Johnson, a young cadet at Alden Partridge’s military school, hiked up Norwich’s Prospect Hill, plunked himself down and drew a detailed pen and ink sketch of Norwich with Hanover in the distance. The drawing includes the South Meeting House, which later became the Congregational Church, and Alden Partridge’s American, Literary, Scientific & Military Academy, which became Norwich University in 1834. Johnson’s sketch shows a prosperous village that had seen its population grow from 1,158 in 1790 to 2,316 in 1830. Wool production, apple growing and farming were fueling the growth. A toll bridge to Hanover was built in 1796.… Read More

Editor’s Note: For a few years now, the Norwich Times has been featuring our young people thinking, doing, and living outside the box. Rather than follow the traditional four-years-of-high-school on to four-years-of-college route, these adventurous souls are recognizing that there are many paths, and that some may lead to a whole new world to explore. Read about Abby Dole, Maisie MacMillen, and Cleo Roback as they tell us about their exciting and humbling travels to distant lands.

Abby enjoying the sights in Paris

Abby Dole

I began the fall of 2017 in Boulder, Colorado, working to save up for my travels, hiking, and living with my sister.… Read More

Residents of Norwich: Have you seen a man blowing giant bubbles larger than a five-year-old at Marion Cross School? Or did you notice in the town picture that one of the residents has on a massive Bernie Sanders Puppet head? Perhaps maybe at Dan and Whit’s last year, you noticed an out-of-the-ordinary housing ad? It wasn’t on a white, 8.5 x 11 piece of paper, but a colorful 3D cardboard cut-out featuring bees, ukuleles, chickens, a red Canadian Maple leaf, and individually drawn portraits of a family of four. They were seeking a house in Norwich by July 1st, which was clearly noted as Canada Day.… Read More

Imagine having your world slowly shrouded in darkness. Once, you were able to see clearly: the snow, the grass, the faces of your loved ones. But then your eyes, your windows into the world, began to cloud over, and you lost sight of that beauty piece by piece. This is the tragedy inflicted by cataracts in the developing world. And the goal of the Himalayan Cataract Project, whose offices include a team right here in Norwich, is to fix it.

The Himalayan Cataract Project, or HCP, was founded in 1995 by two ophthalmologists, Dr. Geoffrey Tabin and Dr. Sanduk Ruit, who pioneered a low-cost, high-volume surgical technique for removing cataracts.… Read More

In some traditions, it all begins with the Word. In keeping with the power of words, and with the relative rarity of the skill, many ancient cultures revered writing, and honored those who could write and read. Now we’re living through changes that find writing reduced to texting. For words we may substitute acronyms or emojis. Some lament the lack of penmanship training in school, but others say, “Who needs it?” Even keyboarding on a QWERTY typewriter is losing out to double-thumbing on a screen-ette.

Zora Neal Hurston’s quote “She stood there until something fell off the shelf inside her” painted by Di Piazza

And then there’s Laura Di Piazza.… Read More

Norwich Residents Lend a Hand

Meghan Wilson (right) poses with her friend Noelia in Puerto Rico

Noelia, Yiria, Elliot, Rose and Glenda. They are the reason why I’m motivated to continue to support and reach out after Hurricane Maria landed on Puerto Rico in September. They are my colleagues and friends on the island, and they are leaders in their separate communities, supporting others and affecting positive change after the storm.

I’m taking a leave of absence this year from teaching biology at Hartford High School and am currently in Mexico to improve my Spanish in order to communicate more effectively.… Read More

Navigating young-adulthood is not always easy. Relationships are difficult. School is challenging. Responsibility is not always an easy concept to grasp. And control does not always seem attainable. Often times, passion and involvement are the things that make all of these challenges seem less daunting and more manageable.

For Sophie Cardenali, that passion and that involvement have been found within the sporting community. Sophie, a Norwich resident and Hanover High School graduate, has been playing sports for as long as she remembers. With parents that both coach skiing, Cardenali recalls fondly that sports have “…always been a big part of my life.”

Cardenali played soccer until her sophomore year of high school before realizing that the match was not meant to be and pursued field hockey for the rest of her high school career.… Read More